Decline in marriage rates hurting kids’ mental health

Its author,Sydney University law professor Patrick Parkinson who has called for a review of government family policy,said he was shocked and troubled by the data collected for the report.

“It is the cumulative impact of all the data taken together which is so troubling,” the Age quoted him as saying.

“It points in particular to a rapidly worsening situation for vulnerable teenage girls,” he added.

“Governments in Australia cannot continue to ignore the reality that two parents tend to provide better outcomes for children than one,and that the most stable,safe and nurturing environment for children is when their parents are,and remain,married to one another,” the report said.

The study argues that marriage makes a difference,not just the characteristics of a child’s parents,because of the commitment involved.